Friday, September 19, 2008

Local band Jackpot Donnie existed over half a decade before releasing their first full-length album, "Music Nightly," this year. Take one listen to the record - filled with hook-laden classic rock-meets-90s alternative guitar crunch - and you can tell the band used the time to carefully plan and produce their material before putting it to CD. The record rocks throughout, but at the same time features a crisp, even professional vibe that's seldom heard on debut records from indie acts.

On "Music Nightly," the band uses largely straightforward classic rock for its core, but incorporates a variety of sounds to flesh things out, including bluesy riffs ("Pell Mell," "Muster Buster"), 311-esque alterna-reggae ("Rumble," "See We Rollin'") and boisterous bar rock ("Agent Estimation"). This mixture of sounds is welcome, helping to keep things interesting from track to track.

"Agent Estimation" opens the disc and is a highlight with its very cool jittery guitar riff. Matt Love's powerful, throaty vocals are perfect for both the hard-hitting music and "everyman" lyrics throughout, which bring to mind The Allman Brothers Band. A prime example is "Full Bloom," a catchy, lazy summer jam with a chorus that begins, "I've been workin' so hard and I am hurtin'/I could use some time to get this off my mind."

While the band is rooted in traditional sounds and doesn't necessarily cover any new ground on "Music Nightly," they deliver solid, well-written, performed and produced songs sure to please fans of both classic and alternative rock.